Oct 29, 2021; New York, New York, USA; Columbus Blue Jackets right wing Patrik Laine (29) controls the puck against New York Rangers left wing Artemi Panarin (10) during the second period at Madison Square Garden. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports
The Blue Jackets have lost four straight and now face a road test against the 10-2-1 Rangers. The key to this game will be staying out of the box. The Rangers’ power play is scoring at a staggering 35.7%, and they have 15 goals with the man advantage.
Defensive improvement was obvious early in the season, but now it looks washed away. The Jackets have given up a combined 15 goals in their last 3 games. Is it any coincidence that the goals against shot up when they decided not to play their best xGA defensemen in David Jiricek? Jiricek’s 5v5 xGA/60 is 2.53 and Peeke’s is 4.75. In actual goals, Jiricek has 5 even strength goals against in 129 minutes played, and Peeke and Boqvist both have 4 in less than half the time played.
Player to Watch
Artemi Panarin
Apologies to all of you, but this morning you get the writer who sometimes uses the other team’s players for this section. If you want to see how to properly utilize elite talent, look no further than the Rangers and Artemi Panarin. Panarin has 8-14-22 in 13 games played and already has 10 power play points. The Rangers build their offense and team around Panarin instead of trying to change how he plays.
Jackets Notes
We may not know about any lineup changes until this afternoon, but I wouldn’t be surprised if Bean replaced Boqvist. Expect Merzlikins to start tonight.
The Other Bench
Adam Fox is on LTIR after a right knee injury. Fox had 11 points in 10 games played … Shesterkin has missed the last three games, but it sounds like he’s not expected to miss much more time.
